Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel warned a delegation of U.S. lawmakers this week that a nuclear deal with Iran "would be a historic mistake," according to a readout of the meeting between the leaders.
The lawmakers met with Netanyahu as part of congressional mission to the Middle East ahead of a June 30 deadline for Iran and Western nations to strike a final deal meant to reign in the Islamic Republic’s contested nuclear program.
Netanyahu slammed the nuclear deal currently under consideration and said it would endanger the Middle East and America.
"The Prime Minister was direct and candid in describing the threat posed by Iran," Rep. Vern Buchanan (R., Fla.), one of the members in attendance at the meeting, told the Washington Free Beacon.
Netanyahu warned that the West is being "duped" and "was adamant that a nuclear deal with Iran would be a historic mistake," Buchanan said in a separate statement issued following his two-hour meeting with the prime minister and senior Israeli military officials.
"He said Iran is the most dangerous country in the world and poses a much greater threat than ISIS," or the Islamic State (IS), according to Buchanan.
Netanyahu went on to warn that "the Iranian regime does not play by the rules and if sanctions are dropped, money will flow back into Tehran making them even more powerful and dangerous," Buchanan told the Free Beacon in a statement about the meeting.
Israeli leaders have long warned that Iran cannot be trusted to abide by any nuclear deal and that negotiations currently underway are only emboldening the Islamic Republic.
Disagreements between Netanyahu and the Obama administration over its diplomacy with Iran have fueled tensions between the two nations for years.
During his sit down with members of Congress, Netanyahu "expressed his deep concern that the proposed deal would not only put Israel at risk, but America as well because it would set off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East wherein every country in the region would pursue these weapons," Buchanan told the Free Beacon.
"I applaud Prime Minister Netanyahu for his unwavering resolve in the face of the existential threat to the democratic state of Israel," Buchanan added. "Meetings like this strengthen the special bond between our two great democracies and our shared fight against radical Islam."
In April, Buchanan and other lawmakers met with Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, who told them at the time, "Iran can’t be trusted."
Buchanan mentioned these comments to Netanyahu, who told lawmakers that "most of the countries in the Middle East feel the same way about Iran and share his concerns even if they won’t acknowledge it publicly," according to the initial statement released by Buchanan.
The Middle East trip was organized and led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Texas), the chairman of the House’s Homeland Security Committee. The lawmakers also had stops in Iraq to discuss the threat posed by the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, senior Iranian military leaders said on Wednesday that any "war against Iran will mobilize the Muslim world against the U.S."